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Her name is Hinda El Garrab, a 37-year-old Moroccan woman who worked before as an accounting expert and a communication and public relations specialist. Her husband Saad Fayad, is a Lebanese national who was born in the UK. Their love story started in 2015, when they met in Casablanca. After tying the knot in 2017, the couple moved to Beirut, Saad’s hometown.
Moving to Lebanon, the couple did not go empty-handed : Hinda and Saad brought with them the idea of a «100% Moroccan» project. Born in 1982 in Safi, Hinda El Garrab moved to Casablanca with her family.
After studying there, she left for Paris for a master’s degree in management and then a second one in accounting and finance at the Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University. «The degree is the equivalent of accounting charter», Hinda told Yabiladi.
After having graduated in 2004, she worked for a year in Paris in an British audit firm before returning to Morocco. In the Kingdom, Hinda El Garrab switched careers, moving to communication, events and public relations. During her stay in Morocco, she worked for renowned companies and several communication agencies.
Meanwhile, Saad was born in London in 1976. Bearing a Lebanese citizenship, he spent nearly 30 years in the Kingdom. «He speaks darija better than me», says Hinda. His parents loved traveling and business and he spent his first eight years in Lebanon before leaving for Europe.
Two lovers of Morocco
His love for Morocco started when he was 10 years old. His family settled down in Morocco, where he spent 10 years before graduating high school. Back in Lebanon, Hinda’s husband got a master’s degree in political science from Saint Joseph University in Beirut. He joined Morocco back in 2001 to run his family’s business.
In 2015, the couple met and married two years later, in Casablanca. Hinda and Saad decided later to return to Lebanon.
«My husband's wish has always been to return to Lebanon. So, we decided to settle here and bring this 100% Moroccan project with us», said Hinda.
«Today, the Lebanese market is mature in terms of consumption. I wanted to work in the food industry and everything that is related to gastronomy and restauration and I said to myself : my wife is Moroccan, I consider myself Moroccan, so, we had to bring something with us to Lebanon».
And this memory carried to Lebanon is none other than the delicious pastry with flavors from the Kingdom, which remain «refined and healthy compared to other cakes».
Conquering the Moroccan cuisine
Saad and Hinda started making Moroccan pastry, starting with sweet cakes. In May 2018, they launched their project selling goods online. The couple joined forces with the Moroccan embassy in Beirut, providing products at several events, with Royal Air Maroc and the Moroccan community established in Lebanon.
The quality of the products and the professionalism of Hinda and Saad quickly echoed, and then seduced the Lebanese who already know Morocco and its cakes.
The couple opened their shop «Tanjia» two and a half months ago. «We have just added a small tea room and we intend to launch the Moroccan gastronomy», Saad said proudly.
«We love what we do so much that people are seduced. They love, taste and discover. It's new to them. From the second or third mouthful, they begin to appreciate and come back to buy it».
In the future, Hinda and Saad have ambitions to launch Moroccan restaurants. «It will also depend on the survey we intend to do in the market», the couple said. «It's a product that represents Moroccan culture. We are happy and proud to represent Morocco in Lebanon and consider ourselves ambassadors of the culinary arts of Morocco», they concluded.
